Two to new posts at Einstein Noah

LAKEWOOD, COLO. — Brian Unger and Mike Ellis have been named executive vice-president of operations and executive vice-president of franchise and restaurant development, respectively, at Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Inc.

Mr. Unger joins Einstein Noah after a 25-year career with McDonald’s Corp. He joined McDonald’s in 1985, moving to the company’s International group in 1991 where he worked in Latin America as a senior business consultant. In 1992, he moved to Puerto Rico, where he was named director of operations for Central America and the Caribbean. In 1997, Mr. Unger was named director of operations for Latin America, and in 2003, he was named president of the Caribbean Region. He returned to the U.S. business in 2005 as senior vice-president and general manager of McOpCo West Division in McDonald’s USA. In 2009, he moved to Toronto to lead Canadian corporate operations as vice-president of McDonald’s Canada.

Mr. Ellis has a background in franchising, real estate development, construction and design, and he has held leadership roles at a number of restaurant operators. He most recently was chief development officer at O’Charley’s, Inc. Earlier, he was senior vice-president of development at Carlson Restaurants Worldwide, and before that, was chief development officer at Burger King Corp. Mr. Ellis also has held various positions of increasing responsibility at Darden Restaurants Inc.